Crypto investigator and Paradigm advisor ZachXBT has sparked debate in the crypto community after publishing a ranking of the “bottom 5 jurisdictions” for crypto scam victims seeking assistance in recovering funds.
The message was posted to his Telegram channel, “Investigations by ZachXBT,” which currently has 84.7k subscribers. The investigator ranked the countries based on his personal experience assisting victims. The list includes Nigeria, India, Canada, the UK, and Russia, respectively.
No assistance for listed countries
ZachXBT stated alongside the list, “If you contact me from them I will likely have to decline formally assisting due to stagnant legal cases.”
The statement implies a hurdle for victims in these nations, suggesting he cannot provide help because local legal and law enforcement processes in these jurisdictions often fail to progress in such cases effectively.
The list quickly gained attention across X, with some users seeming to have differing opinions on X, with statements like “Putting Nigeria there is sketchy.”
ZachXBT later replied to the post by saying, “UK & Canada currently are where cases go to die.”
In a recent update, he posted a list of ‘top 5’ countries for the same—Netherlands, US, France, Singapore, and “a few” would be put in a tie for fifth position.
Recent cases of jurisdictional challenges
ZachXBT’s assessment aligns with several recent high-profile crypto incidents that reveal systemic issues in how national legal systems handle digital asset crime.
India’s experience with the massive WazirX hack, where over $230 million was reportedly stolen in 2024, is an example of the complex legal system victims have to face. WazirX, whose parent entity, Zettai Pte Ltd, is based in Singapore, pursued a court-supervised restructuring in the Singapore High Court despite having a user base in India. The move to Singapore for official restructuring, and the subsequent approval from a foreign court, shows the lack of a functional, and timely regulatory framework in India for resolving large-scale crypto crimes.
Nigeria’s inclusion points to technical and judicial gaps in dealing with crypto-related crimes. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently urged judges to enhance their understanding of blockchain and cryptocurrency to effectively handle financial crimes involving digital assets. He noted that over 70% of global financial crimes now involve digital elements, validating the investigator’s point that a lack of judicial grounding in these technologies often leads to stagnant or poorly handled cases.
Canada’s high-profile case involving “Crypto King” Aiden Pleterski highlights similar issues. Pleterski was accused of defrauding investors of over $40 million in 2022, reportedly spending most of it on a lavish lifestyle rather than investing it. The delay arguably led to a desperate escalation. Pleterski was later kidnapped, tortured, and held for ransom by investors attempting to recover their lost funds themselves. Several individuals, including an investor, were later charged with the kidnapping, highlighting the consequences when legal systems fail to provide timely justice.
Also Read: ZachXBT Slams BlockDAG’s Project with Scam Allegations
